on gratitude

                   

I've had so much happen over this past year to be grateful for. So many moments where I felt every pore in my body beaming, where I felt nothing more than overflowing thankfulness. I've seen so many new places, travelled to the other side of the world, saw people get married, saw new babies and babies who are growing up, (so quickly, I might add.) I saw people who are making new lives for themselves. I saw two different oceans. I did yoga on the sands of Hong Kong and Virginia Beach. I've been blessed with a husband who continually thanks me for the little things I do, who brings me my cup of coffee in the morning. Who whispers "I love you" before we fall asleep, every night, without fail.

Even with all those little moments, I still struggle with gratitude. I find myself coming back to a place where I don't really feel much of anything about a lot of things. I become complacent. I get used to the little things that make my life better & easier. 

We all get wrapped up in "feelings of thanks" around this time of year, or at least make some sort of effort to because it's expected. But what does that actually look like? Does that simply mean saying thank you to everyone seated beside you at thanksgiving dinner? Does it equate to making an instagram post about the ten things you're most grateful for this year?

I don't know. I feel a wave of reality hit me when I see those things. I really wonder if we didn't have a holiday that is centered around the giving of thanks, if we would even stop for a moment to do just that. 

It's so easy to become complacent. It's so easy to just accept the normalcy of life in it's good givings. But how do we really take those good things into our life with a true spirit of gratitude?

These are thoughts that I've been mulling over for the past few weeks. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that people are making the time to say thank you to their friends & family, or writing the facebook statuses, etc. I think I just wonder what would happen if we didn't have a holiday to center our thanks around. 

I think what I'm trying to get at is that thanksgiving should be a practice we all implement into our daily lives - not just once a year. Yes, yes. A topic that has probably been typed out a million times over the vast expanse of blogs the world over. 

My question is, How are you going to become more grateful in your life?

What will you actually do (implying action,) to express your thankfulness?

Maybe avoid complaining about the bad stuff to other people.

Maybe leaving little thank you notes on the bathroom mirror or the kitchen counter to your partner for the extra work they put in to make things good for the both of you.

Maybe it's doing something nice & not expected for someone who consistently does nice things for you. (my biggest thing right now.)

Maybe it's praying to God more just to say thanks for all the good He has given you.

Maybe it's really soaking in the moments that get overlooked - the sky changing colors as the sun fades, or the smell of the crisp autumn air. 

Maybe it's scooping up your baby & showering them with kisses. 

Maybe it's giving an unexpected shoulder massage or washing the dishes when it's not "your turn."

I'm really trying to be aware of what a grateful heart looks like & how I can express that outwardly.

It's easy to say thank you. 

it's harder to show it.

I challenge you to take this week to do one "act of gratitude" a day - write an email, make someone a playlist of the best Christmas music ever. Make someone a homemade treat. Take time out of your overflowing schedule to treat a friend for coffee & tell them how much you appreciate their friendship. Genuinely LISTEN to someone else without your own agenda. Anything. People need more good vibes in their lives, especially around this time of year. Share the goodness.

// be the change.